Machine fob cutting paper



UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

M. B. BIGELOW, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING PAPER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 20,858, dated Ju1y 13, 1858.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, MILTON B. BIGELow, of Boston, in thecounty of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Paper-Cutting Machines; and I hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exa-ct description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, with the letters o-f reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a view of an entire machine, with a pile of paper, partly cut, on the cutting board. Fig'. 2 is the same machine, with the cutting board and annular lever removed. Fig. 3 is a view of the sliding carriage, with a piece cut out of it, to show the manner in which the lever g is hinged to it, and Fig. 4 is the cutting board. The lrawings are all in perspective, and in out- The same letters refer to similar parts, in all the drawings.

My'invention consists of a new and valuable mode of constructing certain parts of paper cutting machines,-which parts are immediately connected with the moving of the cutting board, and paper, toward and from the knife, and by means of which improvements I am enabled to convey the paper, with great facility and expedition, to the precise place desired under the knife; thereby saving a great amount of time, in one part of the process of paper cutting.

In all paper cutting machines heretofore made, the cutting board rests on the top of the framework of the machine, and is placed under the knife, (as nearly as possible in the position desired,) by the hands of the person operating the machine, the cutting board being movable, horizontally, in every direction. A great deal of time is frequently consumed in adjusting the cutting board, with the paper upon it, in its proper place under the knife, and, when great exactitude is required, it very often happens that, before the desired position is attained, the whole pile of paper on the cutting board becomes so disturbed and disarranged, by the repeated moving of the cutting board, as to render it necessary to remove the paper,

from the board, jogit together a second time, replace it on the cutting board, and again attempt to place it properly under the knife.

Fly invention is designed to remedy these diliculties and to prevent this loss of time, and I construct the machine as follows:

a, a, a, a, Figs. l and 2, is the frame of the machine, made of wood or iron, of strength suflicient for the work required.

is an annular lever, attached to the shaft c, said shaft being supported and turning in bearings, d, CZ, secured to the frame of the machine.

e, c, are two pinions secured to shaft c.

f is the knife carriage.

g is the knife.

l1., 7L, are handles, by which the knife carriage and knife are moved.

z' is the knife guide, on which the knife carriage moves backward and forward, hori zontally. The knife guide serves also to press and hold the paper on the cutting board x.

7c, 7c, are two vertical racks, the upper ends of each of which are fastened to the knife guide, z'. These racks engage in the pinions, c, c, on the shaft c..

Z is a brake, one end of which is pivoted, or hinged, to a projection from the frame, as seen in Figs. l and 2, the other end being held up, by the spiral spring m, so as to press the brake against the rim of the annular lever Z). The rim of the lever Z) is notched, as shown in the drawing of Fig. l, and these notches engage in a stop, or catch, on the surface of the brake. This stop, or catch, is seen on the drawing in Fig. 2.

n is a small flange, attached to the frame, to keep the brake off, sidewise, from the frame, in a convenient position to be pressed by the foot of the operator.

o is a rock shaft, resting and turning in bearings on the frame of the machine.

p is a straight lever, attached to the rock shaft 0.

g and r are two straight levers, jointed at s, one end of the lower lever, r, being secured to the rock shaft, o, by a collar and set screw, t. The upper end of the lever g is hinged, to the brace u, on the underside of the sliding carriage, o o, as seen in Fig. 3.

At the corners of the sliding carriage, V, V, there are flanges, o-r ears, fw, lw, lw, w, which rise above the surface of said carriage. These ears, w, w, fw, fw, are for the purpose of holding the cutting board, m, securely and firmly in its place on the sliding carriage, so that the cutting board shall not have any local movement, or motion, in any direction,

independent of that which it receives from, or through, the sliding carriage, o, fv. The cutting board is made of wood, and will sometimes shrink so as to have a little play between the ears, w, w, w, w. In such case I wedge the cutting board between the ears, with small wooden wedges. Or the cutting board may be screwed to the sliding carriage by screws which may proceed upward from the underside of the sliding carriage.

y, y, are two guide rails, secured to the top of the frame of the machine, one at each end thereof. YWhen made of iron, the guide rails and frame may be cast together, and thus the guide rails become a part of the frame. The oliice, and purpose, of these guide rails, y, y, is to sustain the weight of the sliding carriage, vi, fv, the cutting board, and the paper placed on said cutting board. They are for the purpose, also, of sustaining the pressure given to the pile of paper, to hold said paper, while being cut. They are for the purpose, also, of causing the sliding carriage, c, c, and the cutting board a1, and the paper on said cutting board, to move in a direction at right angles to the length of the knife guide, z', whenever motion is given to said sliding carriage and cutting' board. In governing the direction of the motions of the sliding carriage, and the parts connected with it, the guide rails act in conjunction with the flat, elongated, studs, e, a, .2, z, one such stud being placed at each corner of the sliding carriage on the underside. These studs, z, z, z, z, are so fitted and fastened to the underside of the sliding carriage,l as to bear against the inner vertical sides of the guide rails, y, y, and thereby prevent the sliding carriage, 0, c, and the cut-ting board, (and the paper upon said cutting board,) from moving in any other direction than a straight line, in its, or their, horizontal motions.

The straight lever, P, the rock shaft 0, and the levers g and r are for the purpose of imparting motion to the sliding carriage, c, c', and the parts connected with said earriage, and by this device, for moving said carriage, I am enabled to bring the paper, to be cut, with great safety, certainty, and rapidity, to the position desired, under the knife. The knife, g, is moved up and down, vertically, and independently of its horizontal movements, by turning the handles, 7L, 7i, a small pinion being attached to the shaft which runs through said handles, and said pinion moving a vertical rack to which the knife is fastened by a small screw; the whole construction of the knife and knife carriage, and the operation of the same, being the same as in the paper cutting machines now in common use.

m, Fig. 2, are brackets, which are fastened to the guide rails, or to the frame, and serve to keep the vertical racks, 7c, 7e, in

an erect position in their movements up and down. On such bracket is placed on each end of the frame, directly opposite the pinions, e, e, to keep said vertical racks pressed up against said pinions.

e, Fig. 1, is a pile of paper, pressed be* tween the knife guide, z', and the cutting board a, and is partly cut.

y, fj', gj, are cross ties, which support the frame.

The operation of the machine is as follows: All parts of the machine being properly made and adjusted, with the cutting board, m, in its place on the sliding carriage, c, c, the operator presses his foot on the brake, Z, which thus relieves the annular lever With one or both hands the annular lever is turned in such a direction that the pinions e, e, on shaft c, acting on the vertical racks, 7c, 7c, will raise said racks, and the parts connected with them sufficiently high to admit the pile of paper to pass freely under the knife guide, z'. The action of the brake, on the annular lever, is now restored by removing the pressure of the foot. The straight lever, 0, is now moved so as to turn the rock shaft, 0, in the proper direction to act on the levers g and r so that the sliding carriage, e, fu, which is hinged to the lever g, will run backward on the guide rails, y, y, until the front side of the cutting board, (and by said front side is meant the side nearest and just over, the point at which the lever is hinged to the sliding carriage,) is

rought under, or nearly under, the knife. The pile of paper, the upper or top sheet having been previously marked into as many divisions as it is desired to cut the whole pile, is now placed on the cutting board, with one side, or edge, of said pile, parallel with the front side of said cutting board. The straight lever p is now moved so as to bring the cutting board, with the paper upon said board, by the action of said lever p, rock shaft o, levers g and 1", and sliding carriage /v fv, into the position desired, under the knife. again pressed on the brake, and the knife guide thus allowed to descend on to the pile of paper. A few smart pulls, with both hands, on the annular lever, 5,'will grip the paper firmly between the cutting board and knife guide-and the action of the brake being now restored, the stop, or catch, on said brake, will engage in a notch on said annular lever, and thus the pressure on the paper will be maintained. The knife carriage is now passed quickly from end to end of the knife guide, i, by taking hold of the handles t h, and the knife, at the same time, is made to descend, vertically, by means of the pinion and vertical rack working in the knife carriage, until the whole pile of paper is eut through.

The foot is now I do not confine myself to the precise l straight line, in its horizontal motions, said 2o mechanical devices herein described, as they are susceptible of various modifications. It is very obvious, for instance, that V-shaped rails might be employed for sustaining and directing the sliding carriage and cutting board in their movements; also, that a' short shaft With a crank and pinion on it, might be attached to the frame,-said pinion being made to engage in a gear wheel afiixed to the rock shaft o, for the purpose of moving the cutting board and paper,- but What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The Within described mechanism, or any other essentially the same, by means of Which the cutting boardis prevented from moving in any other direction than a mechanism consisting of the guide rails, y, y, and the sliding carriage, o, fv, constructed and operating in the manner, substantialy, as, and for the purpose, herein specilie 2. I also claim actuating the sliding carriage, o, lv, and With it the cutting board by means of the mechanism herein described, or any other essentially the same, said mechanism consisting of the levers g and 1^, the rock shaft 0,-and the straight lever p, constructed and operating in the manner, substantially, as, and for the purpose, herein speciiied.

M. B. BIGELOVV.

Vitnesses:

S. fl. BACON, J. C. CRosMAN. 

